owen

We are so excited to announce the newest Foxley arrival! He joined us on Wednesday, May 12, 2010, weighing in at an impressive 10lb. 9oz! Our new baby boy has already captured the hearts of all his family members, including Anna, who always insists on hold, hugging, or kissing him. We are so thankful he has come to our family.

anna's apron

Anna is at the age where she loves being in the kitchen and watching everything I do. So this year for Christmas I decided to make her an apron. I found some adorable fat quarters at Material Girls Quilts, but I couldn't find a pattern online that I loved, so I designed my own instead. My friend Paula is super talented in every way, so last week she helped me make a pattern based on my apron design. (Thank goodness for Paula! I can't even imagine how it would have turned out with my long neglected (and not that great in the first place) sewing skills. It actually looks professional thanks to her! She is amazing! :) It has four little pockets in the front to hold anna's stirring spoons and spatulas. It only took a few hours to make the pattern and sew it! I was beyond thrilled at how it turned out!

If you love it like I do, check back after the holiday craziness for the pattern and instructions.

baby foxley

Wow. It is like November never even registered with my blogging brain. Can I blame it on the approaching stress of the holidays? Or maybe...can I blame it on...our brand new baby foxley due to arrive this spring? Travis and I are so excited for this new addition to our rapidly growing family. Once again, we won't be finding out the gender of the peanut, so don't try to convince us otherwise! ;) Anna has no clue what is about to rock her world, but she does love being around other kids and babies, so we think this will be ok with her (cross our fingers!). Once again, this pregnancy has left me pretty sick, tired, and I feel so blessed to have a good sport and support like Travis by my side through it all. (Although, I am not sure how blessed he feels at the moment! :) )

Here is the first picture of the peanut: (It looks exactly like a little teddy bear to me!)

picking apples

Anna and I took a much needed break from the day-to-day grind and went with Aunt Jen and cousins to pick some apples. It was the most beautiful fall day—sunny and warm—perfect weather to enjoy a long sleeve shirt. Anna loved the goats and she was actually a pretty good little helper. She picked up all the fallen apples off the grass and put them in her own little bag. She loved it.

Here are a few more pics of our great fall day…

the smell of grapes and fire in the fall

You'll never guess what I actually did this week... I did some CANNING!!!!! Yes. It is true. I went last Saturday to pick grapes at Aunt Jolene and Ralphie's house. They were delicious concord grapes, and I got about two grocery sacks full. I borrowed a steam juicer and was able to get 11 quarts of juice concentrate! Only Mom will understand the satisfaction that comes from hearing the tiny "pop" as each one self-seals. Ahhhh.

Anna tried dusting the stove today while I was steaming grapes and caught the duster on fire. No one was injured, and no property was damaged (besides the duster). Phew! She is now not allowed to dust in the kitchen anymore.

dancing anna

Anna has become quite the dancer lately…the radio, tv commercials, the hymns at church…anything will get those little arms moving. Here is Anna's choreography to The Office theme song. Enjoy!

Dancing Anna from Travis Foxley on Vimeo.

open for business!

For the last few months I have been working feverishly on a new, exciting project…and it just went live TODAY! It is a site called myLDSmemories.com, and I am so pleased with how it turned out. It is a site with free software so you can make your own hardbound, personalized photo Memory Books! You can make books from scratch, or simply drop your own photos into the pre-designed themed pages. You can have a beautiful, hardbound book in minutes! ;) Ok. I sound like a salesman now, but I truly am genuinely excited about this site and the products available. So, check it out here, if you like what you see, spread the word! (You can click through some sample books right on the home page.) EVERYONE also GETS 50% OFF DURING OCTOBER…so you should all make a book now! ;) Ok. I'll stop.